I want to take a short look into our acquiring hearing ears, Why, Because there seems to be a misconception taught throughout the so called "Christendom" that no one will ever hear or see GOD. Because GOD is Spirit, they do not take into account that man is also spirit. And when mans spirit is healed it is restored to that of man in Genesis 2 and as Jesus stated I AM Truth, I AM LIFE and I AM the WAY, He was saying I AM Now. Because in the Spirit, spirit there is no distinction between one day and the next. There is no time realm as man has on earth, therefore it is always in the Now present tense. Do you have ears to hear, is my question for Now. Before getting there lets look to Pastor Hoekstra's writing on Grace and the Holy Spirit and then using the ESV translation I will look at having a hearing ear.
"Three Wrong Responses to the Holy Spirit"
"You always resist the Holy Spirit . . . Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God . . . Do not quench the Spirit." (Acts 7:51; Ephesians 4:30; and 1Thessalonians 5:19)
"It is the Will of God that we walk in daily independency upon the Holy Spirit. It is GOD's desire that we seek Him for the fullness of the Spirit's work in and through our lives. Three wrong responses that undermine the Will of GOD are resisting, grieving, and quenching the Spirit of the LORD.
When Stephen was on trial before the religious leaders those known as and called Jews of Israel, he preached a powerful sermon declaring the Faithfulness of GOD toward His consistently unfaithful nation. He concluded his message with a pointed, radical, accurate evaluation. "You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you" in Acts 7:51. Here we are given the kind of attitudes that oppose the work of the Spirit. These people were "stiffnecked." They were stubborn and self-willed. They wanted their will, not the Will of GOD. They also were "uncircumcised in heart and ears." They did not allow GOD to cut away the carnality of their inner being. They would not allow GOD to speak to them through His messengers. They were self-righteous and self-sufficient. When we conduct ourselves in this same manner, we also are "resist[ing] the Holy Spirit."
When Paul was writing to the church at Ephesus, he commanded them: "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit" In the next verse he indicated the dispositions that bring Grief to the Spirit of GOD. "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice" in Ephesians 4:31. Yes, the Holy Spirit is a person, not a mere power or influence. HE can be saddened by our behavior. When, GOD's people, harbor bitterness in their hearts and malicious words in their mouths, then they are "griev[ing] the Holy Spirit of GOD."
When Paul wrote to the saints at Thessalonica, he instructed them: "Do not quench the Spirit." Just as a fire can be quenched, the promptings of the Holy Spirit can be stifled. As we read the word of GOD, the Spirit can be stirring a spiritual fire of conviction within us. Will we respond to that heavenly influence, or will we suppress it? When the LORD is igniting a vision of service unto Him, will we yield or will we extinguish it? When the LORD is calling us to intercessory prayer, will we cry out to Him or will we suppress that desire He is kindling? Will we allow the Spirit to blaze within our hearts; or will we "quench the Spirit"?"
The Hearing Ear:
Psalm 40:6-8 "In sacrifice and offering You have not delighted, but You have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required. Then I said, "Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: I delight to do Your Will, O my GOD; Your law is within my heart."
Proverbs 18:10-16 "The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe. A rich man's wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his imagination. Before destruction a man's heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor. If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame. A man's spirit will endure sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear? An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. A man's gift makes room for him and brings him before the great."
Proverbs 20:6-16 "Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find? The righteous who walks in his integrity— blessed are his children after him! A king who sits on the throne of judgment winnows all evil with his eyes. Who can say, "I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin"? Unequal weights and unequal measures are both alike an abomination to the LORD. Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright. The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the LORD has made them both. Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread. "Bad, bad," says the buyer, but when he goes away, then he boasts. There is gold and abundance of costly stones, but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel. Take a man's garment when he has put up security for a stranger, and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for foreigners."
Proverbs 25:11-14 "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear. Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the soul of his masters. Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give."
Matthew 13:10-17 "Then the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?" He answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: "You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive." 'For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.'"
Christ rejection was the issue of those in folly and religious blindness to spiritual words of great importance and so it continues to this very day.
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